Māra comes to disturb the Bodhisatta: some accounts say Māra urged him to give up his striving, others that Māra sent his daughters to seduce him and led his army against him; but the Bodhisatta is unmoved, and in the end Māra fails and withdraws. The Sutta Nipāta of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Sanskrit Mahāvastu all record this event, but differ on when it happened. Pali Canon
More sources (3)
Different Accounts
When it happened: the Sutta Nipāta of the Southern tradition says it was while the Bodhisatta was striving in austerities by the Nerañjarā; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Buddha biography Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing say on the night of the Awakening; the later commentaries of the Southern tradition say Māra's army was routed before the sun had set. The Sanskrit Mahāvastu and the Sanskrit Lalitavistara have both episodes: Māra coming to dissuade him during the austerities, and Māra's army attacking on the night of the Awakening.
More differences between accounts (3)
The attempt at dissuasion: the Sutta Nipāta of the Southern tradition says Māra urged the Bodhisatta in a tone of sympathy to preserve his life and turn to good works instead; the Bodhisatta answered with faith, energy and wisdom, and enumerated the ten armies of Māra (the defilements: sensual desire, discontent, hunger and thirst, and so on), and Māra left in disappointment; the list of Māra's armies in the Sanskrit Mahāvastu differs slightly.
The assault: the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya says the Bodhisatta pointed to the earth, and the earth goddess rose from the ground to bear witness; Māra then sent his three daughters (named Craving, Desire and Attachment) to seduce him, and then thirty-six koṭis (a koṭi is an immense number) of armed demon soldiers, but the Bodhisatta was unmoved. The Pravrajyāvastu of the same Vinaya says the Bodhisatta, armoured and armed with loving-kindness and compassion, subdued three hundred and sixty thousand koṭis of Māra's troops. Taishō Canon
More sources (1)
The Buddha biography Zhongxu mohedi jing says Māra forged a letter from King Suddhodana saying that Devadatta had broken into the prince's palace.
Dating
The Buddha aged thirty-five, on the eve of the Awakening; the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya states that it was on the night of the Awakening, the Buddha biography Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing has the night of the seventh day of the second month, and the Sutta Nipāta of the Southern tradition places it during the austerities; it can be fixed to a day, but there is no settled answer. Taishō Canon
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by three schools: the Pali canon of the Southern tradition, the Chinese Saṅghabhedavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and the Sanskrit Mahāvastu. Attested across multiple schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Stated in the canonical text (the text itself gives the time); commentarial dating (the canonical texts give no date; later commentaries record it). Time precision: fixed to the day.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.2:1.1–2.1
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.2:15.2
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.123a–b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1450 p.123b
- 大正藏大正藏 T23 no.1444 p.1027a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.184 p.470c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.185 p.477a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.186 p.520a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.187 p.593a
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.639c
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.189 p.641b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.190 p.788b
- 大正藏大正藏 T03 no.191 p.950a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.192 p.25a
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.194 p.128b
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.2Entire text
- 轉引自現代整理本轉引自現代整理本
- Pali Canon巴利 SN 4.24Entire text
- 梵文原典梵文《大事》第二冊 p.237–240
- 梵文原典梵文《大事》第二冊 p.268–283
- 梵文原典梵文《普曜經》第 18 品
- 梵文原典梵文《大事》第二冊 p.240
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.2:1.2
- Pali Canon巴利 Snp 3.2:1.1–1.4
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Bv-a，序分
- 梵文原典梵文《大事》第二冊 p.237–240、p.268–283
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.782a
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1421 p.141b
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1425 p.491c